Comment on FR Doc # 2012-13425

As the Founder & Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! (www.savethefrogs.com), America’s first and only public charity dedicated to amphibian conservation, I represent all 6,810 amphibian species as well as all humans who rely on the multitude of ecosystem services amphibians provide. Amphibian populations have been rapidly disappearing worldwide and nearly one-third of the world's amphibian species are on the verge of extinction. Up to 200 species have completely disappeared since 1979. Frogs and other amphibians face an array of threats from climate change to habitat destruction; pesticide use; over-collection for frog legs and dissections; invasive species; and infectious diseases spread by human activity. Frogs eat mosquitoes, provide us with medical advances, serve as food for birds, fish and monkeys, and their tadpoles filter our drinking water. Plus they look and sound cool, and kids love them! I strongly oppose the Delisting or Reclassification of the arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus) from Endangered to Threatened status and urge the USFWS to let this endangered toad species remain listed as Endangered so that it gets the full protection it deserves. The primary threat to the toads derives from humans, and the California human population is growing. Most Californians and most businesses located in the state are thoroughly uneducated about amphibian conservation, and few people or businesses are motivated to protect amphibians such as the arroyo toad. This combined with the toad's population levels being far below their tradition level means that the toad is still under serious threat and thus warrants its Endangered status. Please do not delist the arroyo toad. Thank you. Kerry Kriger, Ph.D. Save The Frogs - Founder, Executive Director, Ecologist www.savethefrogs.com www.savethefrogs.com/kerry-kriger